The good news today on the COVID front is indeed good news.
It is the news that most of us thought and hoped would happen sooner. But now that it has happened, there is likely a sense of relief among most people.
The Centers for Disease Control getting rid of some of the most restrictive and long-standing recommendations about how to prevent widespread infections of the COVID-19 virus is the sign we wanted.
It means that despite the new variants that spiked cases over the last few months, things appear to finally be winding down.
It’s not because the virus has disappeared. That will probably never happen. But it’s because, as the CDC says, an estimated 95 percent of Americas 16 and older have acquired at least some level of immunity, from being vaccinated and boosted or having been infected, some more than once.
So the guidelines have now changed. No more quarantining if you’re exposed to someone with the virus. No more six feet of social distancing.
The recommendations for schools also have changed, with no more daily testing and masks required unless there is high transmission and a person is at high risk.
The CDC says the easing of the guidelines doesn’t mean that people who are more vulnerable due to age or health conditions shouldn’t still be careful. But the easing of the guidelines that we’ve lived with for a long time, sure feels good.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: AFP via Getty Images